Friday, October 28, 2016

It was not what I usually would buy for myself, so it sat in my stash for a while. At first I thought I would make something for the lady who gave me the fabric, but as time went on, and so did she, it never happened.

Eventually I found the black on black to compliment the floral and the project started.

My plan is to gift this to a Vietnamese couple that attends my church. He is undergoing chemo for liver cancer. They have difficulty with the language, but aren't quilts are a universal language?

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Recently I have been reading books written by Eva Marie Everson. When I find an author I like, I tend to devour everything they have written. Most recently I read The Road to Testament.

This a story is about a young woman who was raised in a life of privilege. At age 30, she is given an ultimatum about expanding her boxed in life. She must return to the small town where her grandparents had, at one time, produced a "home and garden" type magazine. Resurrecting the magazine and working for the town newspaper turns out to be a challenge for Ashlynne Rothschild. Meeting gruff William Decker finds her arrested by his good looks and mysterious behavior. All which taunt her natural curiosity as a journalist. When she uncovers some deeply troubling evidence about some of the towns folk, Ashlynne finds she cannot keep her hands off. Jeopardizing the community, her career and her growing affections for Will.

Eva Marie Everson has a way of transporting you into the pages of her novel. I really enjoyed this book.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Machine quilting. It's been my goal, working to finish the UFO's that have piled up. So the question is... how to quilt them?

Over the years I have tried my hand at free motion quilting. Every time I get a little bit of control and ease in the quilting, I find that there is a huge break in time. I lose the momentum, and the next time I sit down at the sewing machine, my quilting looks like a disaster.

Taking the time to practice, practice, practice has brought a sense of frustration. So in light of completing the quilt, I purposed to do straight stitching with my walking foot.

Case in point... I started quilting straight lines through the body of this quilt.

Crossing over to make an X over the white blocks.

But I can also fancy up the quilting a bit, just by adding curves and arcs.

All done with my walking foot.

I machine quilted straight vertical lines on this last quilt.

But then I felt I needed to do something more. So here is what I did.

Starting at one point, I spotted down two rows. Went back to the top and crossed over, again spotting two rows down.

I love the way it turned out.

My quilts are not going to win any prizes, but they are what I love to do. Using geometric designs works for me. Better to be finished than perfect :-)

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Friday, October 14, 2016

In my quest to work down my UFO list, I am finding quilt tops that make me smile.

I love this ladybug fabric. Originally the fabric was used to make a baby quilt as a gift. I had enough fabric left to make another small version of the same pattern. I quilted the boxes and outlined the geo's around them. Another cute baby quilt at the ready.

It
was a fun and interesting class. We were to
work on blocks for a sampler quilt. The teacher was patient and very
knowledgeable. On the day we were learning about creating and cutting
out templates, she brought out a package and showed us a tool that would
make cutting much more accurate and easier then using scissors. Yeah,
right, we all said. Well of course that tool was the rotary cutter, and
the rest is history.

I never did finish my 15 1/2" blocks. As a
matter of fact I do not even know whatever happened to those blocks.
But a wonderful thing did happen. My sister in law attended a class in a new quilt shop that had recently opened in our area. She not only
learned HOW to use this amazing new tool, she was introduced to the
queen of stripping, Eleanor Burns and her Quilt in a Day method. She of
course shared the information with me, and helping me pick out fabric,
we both made a Log Cabin quilt.

This is the one I made.

Yes that was my first quilt. And I've been hooked on Quilt in a Day ever since.

Over
the years I've made many different quilts, and they mostly stem from
the method I learned from Eleanor Burns. This quilt was made after I watched a QIAD
PBS program. At the time Eleanor Burns was showing a 10 year old how
to make this fun strippy quilt. I loved her process and enjoyed making,
not only the fall quilt, but this Christmas one too.

Now
all that to say, the other night I was wondering if I could view the
same program with the little 10 year old girl. I went online and tried
to find it, but to no avail. However, I did find a link at QIAD
community for some past programs. Boy was that fun. I enjoyed seeing
lots of quilts that Eleanor has made through the years. This was a great
incentive. Here is the link if you'd like to take a look. Even though it says error, type in Quilt in a Day in the search box, and the videos will pop up.

I
am not a fancy quilter. I love to make geometric designs and highlight
beautiful fabrics. It's been fun to use Eleanor's techniques to make
quilts look harder then they really are. Yep, we've come a long way
baby.

Please do not copy content from this page

Please not use any written content or personal photos from this blog without my written permission.The content on these pages (text and images), are the sole property of the author, and may not be reproduced in any manner without consent.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDCopyright 2009-2018Happy Cottage Quilter

Fabric Calculator

Thank you for stopping by! Your visits and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Happy Quilting!